TLP Library
Teaching and learning packages (TLPs) are self-contained, interactive resources, each focusing on one area of Materials Science.
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- alloys(9)
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Currently showing 27 TLPs
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Additive Manufacturing
This TLP provides an introduction to additive manufacturing methods, their advantages and limitations, and how the properties of printed objects are affected by varying printing parameters.
Coating Mechanics
This TLP should provide some insights into the mechanics of bi-layer (coating on substrate) systems. It covers the concept of a misfit strain and the way in which equilibrium is established after its introduction, including the creation of curvature. The differences between "thin" and "thick" coating cases are explained.
Crystallinity in Polymers
An understanding of polymer crystallinity is important because the mechanical properties of crystalline polymers are different from those of amorphous polymers. Polymer crystals are much stiffer and stronger than amorphous regions of polymer.
Crystallography
Crystalline materials are characterised by a regular atomic structure that repeats itself in all three dimensions. In other words the structure displays translational symmetry.
Dielectric Materials
This teaching and learning package will introduce you to the properties and uses of dielectric materials.
Diffusion
An introduction to the mechanisms and driving forces of diffusion, and some of the processes in which it is observed.
Dislocation Energetics
This teaching and learning package (TLP) uses an atomistic model of the misfit energy to predict dislocation width and Peierls stress.
Elasticity in Biological Materials
This teaching and learning package (TLP) discusses the elasticity of biological materials. Whilst some show Hookean elasticity, the vast majority do not. Non-linear elasticity is considered, in particular J-shaped and S-shaped curves. Viscoelasticity is also discussed, using hair and spiders' silk as examples.
Electromigration
Electromigration is an ever-increasing problem as integrated circuits are pushed towards further miniaturization. The theory of the phenomenon is explained, including electromigration-induced failure and how it has been and can be minimized.
Epitaxial Growth
This TLP enables you to explore the way in which perfect thin crystalline layers are deposited epitaxially (i.e. in the same crystal orientation) on semiconductor substrates. This is the way many electronic and opto-electronic devices are now fabricated using techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).
Examination of a Manufactured Article
This TLP provides an introduction to the deconstruction and investigation of the materials and processes used in an everyday item or article.
Ferroelectric Materials
Ferroelectrics have been used in real-world applications for a small number of decades, most notably for non-volatile data storage. For example, they have been used in a Sony Playstation and Japanese railway cards.
Ferromagnetic Materials
How many ferromagnets do you think you own? Maybe many more than you realise. Ferromagnetic materials lie at the heart not just of the humble compass, but also of many loudspeakers and of computer memory. This teaching and learning package outlines the microscopic basis of magnetism and some of the conquences of ferromagnetic order in real materials.
The Glass Transition in Polymers
This teaching and learning package is based on a lecture demonstrations used within the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The package is aimed at first year undergraduate Materials Science students and focuses on the glass transition in polymers.
Liquid Crystals
This Teaching and Learning Package provides an introduction to liquid crystals, their physical properties and their modern-day applications.
Introduction to Mechanical Properties of Materials
This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces mechanical properties of materials, starting from a stress–strain curve and exploring both elastic behaviour (e.g., Hooke's law) and plastic behaviour (e.g., slip, creep).
Introduction To Photoelasticity
This tutorial is based on lab work within the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The tutorial provides an introduction to the topic of photoelasticity and preparation for lab work. Photographs illustrate many features of birefringence in polymers under polarised light.
Physical Vapour Deposition of Thin Films
This TLP aims to look at Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) as a method to apply thin films. It covers evaporation and sputtering, and then moves on to look at shadowing.
Piezoelectric Materials
This teaching and learning package (TLP) provides an introduction to piezoelectric materials.
Polymer Basics
This teaching and learning package is an introduction to the basic concepts of polymer science. It includes molecular structure, synthesis and tests for identification.
Pyroelectric Materials
Pyroelectric materials are found in almost every home, in the form of intrusion detectors and other devices, and this TLP will consider how they work, and what the most common ones are made of.
Introduction To Semiconductors
This teaching and learning package provides a very basic introduction to semiconductors. These materials are essential to the operation of solid state electronic devices.
The Stereographic Projection
This TLP covers the use of the Stereographic projection and Wulff nets.
The Stiffness of Rubber
This teaching and learning package is based on two experiments which demonstrate the behaviour of rubber under tension. The first displays the unusual behaviour of a rubber strip when heated under tension; the second considers the behaviour of a rubber membrane under tension. In both cases the behaviour is considered theoretically in terms of the molecular structure of rubber and the thermodynamic entropy changes involved.
Superconductivity
Electrons in pairs? Levitating trains? Superconductivity - the combination of lossless electrical conduction and the ability of a material to expel a magnetic field - is a property that excites interest in fundamental science whilst offering tantalising prospects for a range of applications. In this teaching and learning package (TLP), we trace the history of superconductivity, outline some fundamental properties of superconductors, and describe current and potential applications of materials with this unusual property.
Tensors in Materials Science
This TLP offers an introduction to the mathematics of tensors rather than the intricacies of their applications. Its aims are to familiarise the learner with tensor notation, how they can be constructed and how they can be manipulated to give numerical answers to problems.
Introduction to thermal and electrical conductivity
This teaching and learning package (TLP) provides an introductory guide to both electrical and thermal conduction. It includes a few of the basic mechanisms of conduction, some useful formulae, and some common applications of electrical and thermal conductors and insulators.